David Cronenberg's Hollywood-centered family melodrama Maps to the Stars marks the veteran director's second straight film with Twilight alum Robert Pattinson after 2012's Cosmopolis.

Although many still see Pattinson as vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen, Cronenberg told The Hollywood Reporter he could easily look past that.

"I have no problem ignoring that," the director said of Pattinson's Twilight past. "Of course I watched the first Twilight movie just to see what he was like and get a feel for his screen presence and so on and so on…by the time you're on the set, it's just the two of you making movies. You forget your own movies too.'"

Speaking to THR ahead of Saturday night's New York Film Festival screening of Maps, Cronenberg explained that he wanted to work with Pattinson (who wasn't in attendance at the New York event) on this movie not only because the director thinks of him as "a wonderful actor" and they "had a good time on Cosmopolis" but also because it provided the opportunity for Pattinson to participate in the sort of ensemble film he'd told Cronenberg he wanted to do.

"He told me that he was scared about Cosmopolis because he had not really wanted to do a movie where he was the lead and had the whole movie on his shoulders," the director explained. "And of course in that movie he's in almost every scene. He said, 'One day I'd love to do an ensemble piece where there are a lot of good actors and [he's] just one of them.'"

When Cronenberg was putting together Maps, he thought of his Cosmopolis star.

Lizzy Pattinson, Rob's sister, is one of the contestants of The XFactor UK. She is now at Judges' Houses and talked a little about her brother's support and fame.

On her brother’s support of her entering the show
“He is really excited about it all and he likes hearing about the behind the scenes detail, all the craziness of it all. I sent him a link of the song I am performing for Judges’ Houses and he said ‘that sounds really cool’. It was quite an obscure choice and he thought it was a really good song.

On whether she is prepared for the level of fame her brother enjoys?:
“I have seen the great side of things through my brother but also the other stuff that comes with it. There are so few people who have that level of fame, I know my life wouldn’t be the same as his. I don’t think any girls are going to be throwing their knickers at me.

Friday, September 26, 2014

TORONTO – For a man who emerged as the fully formed and fully fanged vampire heartthrob in the Twilight saga, Robert Pattinson almost seems too fully dimensional, too human, too real to be locker pin-up material. But he’s managing.

The British actor who played Edward opposite Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan says he’s learned to adapt to a complete lack of control when it comes to public perception, which is one reason why he loves working with David Cronenberg so much.

Pattinson played the lead in Cronenberg’s 2012 outing, a limo-bound narrative about greed, corruption and self-contained narcissism called Cosmopolis. And he returns to Cronenberg’s bizarre landscapes in Maps to the Stars, a truly odd Oedipal yarn woven through a Hollywood loom.

Pattinson plays a limo driver to various celebrities in this new effort that also stars Mia Wasikowska, Julianne Moore and John Cusack, and while he says his character, Jerome, was relatively blank on the page, he knew he could trust Cronenberg to let him grope for a while, and get a good feel for what was needed.

“David is very funny,” Pattinson says. “I just like him as a person, and it helps that I really like his work. I like the way he runs his sets: They are so comfortable and I feel more confident on them.”

Pattinson says Cronenberg never panics when faced with the unknown. He allows the story and the characters to evolve organically.

“On Cosmopolis, I was terrified because it was such a wordy script and I hadn’t done any rehearsals, and I hadn’t had any talks with him about the character until the Sunday before the Monday we started shooting. And I tell you I nearly had a nervous breakdown because I assumed he thought I knew exactly what I was going to do and just pull it out…. “ Pattinson laughs, with a sweet little twinkle.

“So I called him up to ask one question…. just to ease my way into telling him that I didn’t know what I was doing. Then he just explained his way of working, which is he doesn’t know what is going to happen until you are on set doing it in its final stage, so there is no real point in rehearsing and no point in even discussing it that much unless you have a massive problem.”

Pattinson says he had no problems on Maps to the Stars, only massive amounts of fun, thanks in large part to Julianne Moore — who emerges as the central character in this multi-pronged narrative about show business, identity and one aging actress’s bid to play the part of her own Golden Age actress mother in a new biopic.

'Maps to the Stars' is the title of the new David Cronenberg film starring Robert Pattinson.

It refers to the Hollywood cartography that informs tourists where to find the homes of their favourite actors. Anyone buying one of these plans will be tremendously disappointed if they are looking for the home of Britain’s most famous vampire. Last year the actor decided to sell his mansion in Griffith Park, near the famous Hollywood sign in central Los Angeles, saying he was too young to be tied to such a lavish property and instead wanted to lay low and live life to his needs rather than his means.

“The house was so amazing,” he says of the abode that he sold for $6.37m. “I wasn’t really thinking when I got it. I was just living in LA and had been living in and out of hotels, and you have money for the first time.”

When he says money, he means a mind-boggling amount, for anyone, not just a young British actor. He reportedly received $20m for the final part of Twilight, the saga that made him a global name, and made his private life fodder for public consumption. Pattinson reveals that the selling of the house is part of a general disassociation with Hollywood. “If you are the kind of person who needs to be pushed into doing something, then Hollywood is not the right place, so I think I might be done with Los Angeles. I’ve just realised that in the past few weeks.”

We meet on the day of the Toronto Film Festival premiere of Maps to the Stars and there is a yearning for Barnes, West London, where he grew up. His dad imported vintage cars from America, and his mother worked for a modelling agency, a profession Pattinson entered just before he hit his teens. “I think I need to spend more time in London, or just move around a bit more. I’ve been in LA for six or seven years or something and it’s weird. The more you stay there, especially as an actor, the more you think you need to be there, that you’ll be missing out on something by leaving, but you are not really. It’s a fun city, though, but you are permanently on holiday there. I feel like I’ve been on holiday there since I was 22.”

Saturday, September 20, 2014

I don't think we posted this interview during promo - a really great one from Cannes. Rob talks about The Rover, Maps To The Stars, Cronenberg, his career, music and more.

It’s late afternoon in Cannes, and heartthrob, Robert Pattinson, 28, appears to be having a good time at the world’s most glamorous film festival promoting the Rover, starring alongside Guy Pearce, 46. He will also star opposite Julianne Moore, 53, in Maps to the Stars, both slated for release this summer.

His hair is short, he has a little facial stubble and he’s wearing a turquoise jacket, black shirt and dark jeans and sneakers.
Pattinson is of course best known for his role as Edward, a vampire who falls in love with a human, Bella, played by on again off again girlfriend, Kristen Stewart, 24, in The Twilight Saga.

Since then, Pattinson has taken on more serious roles such as Remember Me (2010) and Water for Elephants (2011) in which he starred alongside Reese Witherspoon.

Famous for his good looks, Pattinson is often seen topping the ‘hottest’ lists in many publications such as People (2008 and 2009) and Glamour UK, yet he remains humble. He is also the face of Dior Homme, which he took on after Jude Law.

THE INTERVIEW:

Q: Are you a fan of the Mad Max films?
PATTINSON: I have actually never seen them. I have been asked so many times this morning and I have never seen it. (laughter) I guess I have got to see it now.

Q: This whole genre, is it familiar to you?
PATTINSON: Yeah, but I think this one is kind of different. I mean, it’s not like everyone has gone crazy, and they are cannibals. There feels something more real about it, and also I think the world where the movie is set, it’s not that the entire world is like that, they are just in the middle of nowhere. The country has just become very unstable and anything could collapse at any second. It’s sort of like the new society is trying to be born again.

Q: Is the collapse of society a familiar fear to you that you can relate to?
PATTINSON: Not really. I think the world is quite resilient, but I don’t know I think it would be a bit of fun. But I am a bit of a nihilist. (laughter)

Q: Was it fun on the set with Guy Pearce? Was he intimidating?
PATTINSON: No, and he’s also really strong as well. So when you are being thrown around, it actually hurts quite a lot. (laughter) And he was really in it the whole time because he’s really not like that.

Q: So he’s a good actor like you. Is this something that’s really important to you when you work?
PATTINSON: Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean, I think, I always hear some actors saying they didn’t read reviews or care about it, and I just think they are making it up. (laughs) Everybody cares about it; whether people think it’s good.

Q: What was the most difficult thing for you to create this character, to make him special in a way?
PATTINSON: I mean a lot of it was just there in the script at the beginning and I just really connected to it. I mean the most difficult thing was getting the job. But I think once I was doing it, it was quite fun. It was an exciting part to play and David Cronenberg [David Michôd - the interviewer probably got the wrong David when he transcripted the interview] kind of let me sort of run with any idea as well.

Q: And the accent thing, was that your idea?
PATTINSON: He was supposed to be from the South, but literally only said he was from somewhere in the South, so I don’t know, that was the kind of voice I heard in my head when I was reading the script.

Q: And you said it was more difficult to get the job.
PATTINSON: I mean, I just hate auditioning and I am really, really bad at it. I get so nervous and mess it up for myself and so I have basically tried to avoid doing auditions at all costs. I read the script and I was like, I really, really, really have got to get this part. It’s weird though, preparing for a part that you are already cast and just actually doing it for real and just kind of hoping that your anxiety doesn’t get the better of you in the room.

Q: And you got a phone call? What happened?
PATTINSON: I got a second audition afterwards and then they told me at the end of it, and it was a kind of amazing feeling.

Q: And so was it the first time you went to Australia shooting?
PATTINSON: I have been to Sydney just a couple of times to work, but yeah, in that area definitely.

Q: Are you done with the blockbuster thing or are you possibly returning to that at some point in your career?
PATTINSON: Yeah, it’s waiting for the right director. Nothing has come up and I mean, that’s not saying I don’t want to do it, but blockbusters, big movies just take a really long time to shoot as well. So I think you have to really, really, really want to do it. There’s a lot of pressure and you just don’t get that many interesting parts in big movies, especially for young guys. It’s just the same thing every time.

Q: Lots of comic book adaptations. Is there some character that you would say, yeah, I would do it?
PATTINSON: Yeah maybe, I was never really that into comic books when I was a kid and stuff so I don’t really have that connection. You also have to work out like tons, (laughter) in potentially a movie you might not like. It’s just a big hassle. (laughs)

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Thanks to @ProsperoPics for the first two pictures. From the pre-premiere party (more HQ pictures here) and after the screening (more pictures from the premiere - inside the theater and red carpet here, here and here).

As a freelance entertainment journalist/writer/hack you can tell how valuable an actor’s time is – at least to the studio offering him up for interview – by the amount of time you are given with him. Other factors include how many people he has around him and whether or not you are asked not to ask any personal questions.

In the case of Robert Pattinson, he is pretty valuable. While I am not asked to refrain from personal inquiries – the publicists know I don’t go in for that s*** – the former star of the Twilight series is having his time here at TIFF divvied into four-minute increments, such is the demand.

The movie Pattinson is here to promote is Maps to the Stars. It is his second film with Canadian director David Cronenberg after 2012’s Cosmopolis. He was the lead in that film but has a secondary role in Maps, playing Jerome, a Hollywood limo driver with screenwriting ambitions. Mia Wasikowska (Only Lovers Left Alive) plays Agatha, a disfigured young woman with a secret connection to a high-powered Hollywood family, who employs Jerome to drive her around.

Maps to the Stars is written by Bruce Wagner. A former actor who co-starred with Maps co-star John Cusack in 1986’s One Crazy Summer, Wagner has gone on to become a respected novelist and screenwriter. He also used to work as a limo driver, making him, for all intents and purposes, some version of Jerome.

“I thought it was hilarious, and it was sort of dangerous,” Pattinson says of Wagner’s screenplay. “I quite liked the fact that - and David liked it as well - he’s this kind, genial, academic man. And then seeing the script, upon two pages of it, it’s so savage and jokes which you really don’t know how they are going to land at all or could have walk-outs quite easily. I just love feeling David’s glee with that.”

Pattinson says he only met Wagner after he had shot “quite a lot of stuff” on the film, which shot in Toronto and Los Angeles.

“But then I sort of talked to David about it because it’s a strange part. On the page he’s kind of a cipher for Bruce and almost a blank on the page. So I didn’t really want to reveal my ignorance.”

As for former model Wasikowska, Pattinson says he has known her “for a really long time, and I’ve seen a lot of her stuff as well. I think she’s a really amazing actress.

“But it’s funny, though. She’s gotten a lot more confident. I don’t know if that’s bad to say, but just seeing her be so funny… And I don’t know. There’s something different that I’ve seen in her that I didn’t realize that it works really well with her personality and skill-set.”

Pattinson will next be seen in Queen of the Desert, a biography of early 20th century explorer Gertrude Bell, played in the film by Nicole Kidman. Pattinson co-stars as Col T.E. Lawrence, a part first essayed by the late Peter O’Toole in 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia. The movie is directed by German legend Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo, Rescue Dawn).

Asked about his criteria for picking roles these days, Pattinson admits: “Yeah, I basically have some weird insecurity issues. So I want to take as little as a gamble as possible when doing my jobs. So I basically just try to work with extremely prodigious auteurs, and that’s kind of been my only decision-making process.”

As for screenwriting limo drivers, Pattinson says he has been accosted by several.

“I actually have a few times. Multiple times… Many, many times. Even here!” he says, laughing.

In your films you’ve portrayed talented men who burn out young – Ian Curtis in Control, and now James Dean and photographer Dennis Stock. Are you interested in the myth-making process that happens around these guys?
Anton Corbijn: If anything, it’s unmasking because I always bring it down to very normal life. In photography I can imagine that people think I make images iconic, but with films I don’t think that’s the case. The film with James Dean is actually about the photographer. He’s the lead role, they just share screen time. I had a similar experience when I was young in Holland. I became the photographer of somebody who became the biggest rock star we ever had there (Herman Brood), so it was interesting to see how that balance works when I thought I was helping him and he probably thought he was helping me. It’s the same with this story.

(...)

Was it an easy process casting Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan in your upcoming film Life?
Anton Corbijn: Dane didn’t want to take a meeting with me initially, as he couldn’t see himself in James Dean’s shoes. But he was persuaded by a mutual friend, and said yes in the end. He’s fabulous, a very good actor. Rob was interested in the film because he really wants to prove himself and for me that was great for that role. If you look at the roles he’s taking on – like the ones withCronenberg – he really wants to do very different, non-mainstream films and get out of that pigeonhole.